Calypso: Licks and Politricks

Master musician, lyrical poet and the BBC’s resident Calypsonian, Alexander D Great returns to NAE for an evening
of performance and discussion exploring the social and political history of Calypso music. Through his own compositions and exploring the work of renowned Calypso artists such as Lord Kitchener and Mona Baptiste, Alexander
looks at Calypso as a tool of resistance for the Windrush Generation.

Alexander D Great
Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Alexander grew up in London from the age of five. On leaving school in the mid 1960s he became a professional musician/songwriter, creating his own style from a mix of Beatles, Blues and Baroque music. In the early 1970s he spent a year in the USA playing with a 50 – piece band. There he learned to arrange and orchestrate, after which he took a BA in Music at Dartington College, followed by a PGCE at Roehampton. He has taught music at secondary and tertiary levels as well as musicianship and composition to degree students at Brunel University. Alex has also presented lectures/seminars on Calypso at the universities of Huddersfield, Leeds, Nottingham, Queen’s University, Belfast and Morley College, London.

Supported by Nottingham Black History Collective
#Windrush70

FREE
All ages